Suns’ Landry Shamet Pops Off in Best Game of Season, Will he Stay Hot?

Landry Shamet heard the noise. While shooting a career-low 34.5 percent from deep coming into last night’s game, his ineffective play for the Phoenix Suns was starting to become noticeable—leading some to criticize him, such as myself.

Quite frankly, Shamet seemed to be trudging through a forgettable individual season, while on a team currently enjoying a campaign for the ages. It felt hard to ignore his shrunken percentages and timely mistakes on this league-best team, sticking out like a sore thumb.

But as the Suns danced all over the Minnesota Timberwolves last night, Shamet finally moved in unison with his team. Coming off the bench, he dropped 17 points while going 4-8 from beyond the arc. He also tallied five assists, four rebounds, and included some solid defensive sequences.

Aside from Shamet’s own skills, his break out game came as yet another product of Monty Williams’s fine coaching. Following the contest, the beloved Suns coach noted his long standing confidence in Shamet despite his previous issues.

In speaking about Shamet’s shooting, Williams said the following:

"“Stop thinking about it, just let it go. Stop thinking about it, shoot the ball, if you miss so what. We have so many guys on our team that get upset when he doesn’t take shots, from coaches to players. He has the ability to make shots, he also has the ability to put the ball down and get to spots on the floor and find other guys. For us it’s like, Landry, shoot the ball, let it fly, don’t worry about the consequences.”"

Williams also expressed his thoughts on giving Cameron Johnson the “green light” a few weeks ago, but with the former Tar Heel shooting 43.5 percent from beyond this arc—the fifth highest mark in the NBA—doing so for him is no tall task.

But by sticking with Shamet, Williams bought his stock low, and with it now on pointing upward, he looks like a genius yet again. After taking a liking to Shamet back as a draft prospect, Monty has always believed in him, and clearly still does.

Whether or not this game will go down as a fluke or a proper coming out party for Shamet remains unknown. Against the Wolves, Shamet did not exactly do anything different than he has all season. He continued to move well off-ball, often positioning himself for both catch-and-shoot opportunities. This time, the ball just hit nylon more often.

But regardless, his big night still comes as a positive sign for the team going forward. Getting Shamet right ahead the playoffs might help Phoenix better than any trade deadline acquisition could in trying to polish off the rotation.

Phoenix certainly will need him in their next game against San Antonio though. The Spurs have surrendered the fewest 3-pointers made to their opponents in the NBA during their last 10 games, and their opponent 3-point percentage sits lower than anyone else’s as well.